Foods to try in Morocco

Foods to try in Morocco

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October 6, 2016

Food in Morocco is plentiful and you’ll never go hungry. When visiting Marrakesh make sure to check out some of the following:

Tagine

Tagine is the most popular dish in Morocco. Cooked in a conical shaped ceramic dish, it can include many ingredients such as chicken, lamb, or beef, with an assortment of vegetables. Sometimes eggs are added also! I’d have to say to try as many varieties as you can, as this seemed to be the main dish that was offered at most restaurants. Towards the end of the trip we’d grown tired of Tagine and Tagine’d ourselves out (especially after our 3 day desert trek!). What a shame, as it is actually pretty good and healthy!

Vegetable tajine

Chicken breast tajine

lamb meatball tajine

Vegetable tagine cous cous (top) beef tagine (bottom)

Jemaa el-Fnaa Food Stalls

In the center of Jemaa el-Fnaa, there are tons of food stalls serving all kinds of foods. The most popular dishes are the grilled meats and the snails. We were not big snail eaters so we opted to try the grilled meat. Stall 31 is supposed to be a popular option and the amount of people waiting made our decision easy when we arrived. It’s a simple meal of bread, grilled sausage meat, and some salsa like sauce. Simple but delicious none the less.

Orange Juice

One of the things we enjoyed was the amount of fresh orange juice vendors at the center of Jemaa El-Fnaa. Morocco is known for their oranges and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice will cost you only ~$0.40 USD. On a hot day, this tiny bit of heaven was something we looked forward to getting.

Pomegranate

We were fortunate to arrive during pomegranate season (early November) so they were being sold everywhere around the Medina. Just look for a man pushing a wooden cart around or a local fruit vendor on one of the side streets. The pomegranates are huge and were bursting from their skin. It was one of the sweetest and juiciest pomegranates we’ve ever tasted and we couldn’t get enough. We would buy a few every night before going back to enjoy it in our room.

Fresh Seafood in Essaouira

If you’re able to make your way to Essaouira, you’ll be rewarded with delicious seafood. There are plenty of restaurants offering various seafood platters, or walk further down to the port and you can buy directly from the fishermen. Aftewards, head to the center of town and find a shop to cook everything up for you for a small fee for your own customized, fresh, and affordable seafood meal!

Crepes

Known as msemem, this version is a layered crepe that’s more doughy and is fried and served for breakfast along with a mint tea. It can also be stuffed with meat or vegetables for a savory version.

Morocco being a French colony, you’ll also find the traditional round thin crepe version. We found it to be widely available in sweet and savory editions for an affordable price of 20 dirhams or less (~$2 USD) in Essaouira.